Anti-theft apparatus for skis

ABSTRACT

A locking means for skis and the like which includes a U-shaped member having a pair of spaced apart side walls adapted to be slidably mounted over a pair of skis placed bottom to bottom between the foot bindings thereon, and a locking bar adapted to be operatively mounted between the free ends of the side walls of the U-shaped member after it is mounted around the skis to lock the U-shaped member on the skis. A flexible cable is provided for securing the locking means and skis to a ski rack or other fixed object. One end of the flexible cable is connected to the free end of one of the side walls of the U-shaped member, and the other end of the cable is attached to one end of the locking bar.

United States Patent [191 Oellerich Aug. 28, 1973 ANTI-THEFT APPARATUS FOR SKIS Prima Examiner-Robert L. Wolfe [76] Inventor: Werner B. Oellerlch, 14170 Barbara ry St. Livonia, Mich 48154 Attorney-Donnelly, Mentag and Harrington [22] Filed: Oct. 30, 1972 57 ST T [21] Appl. N0.: 301,868 A locking means for skis and the like which includes a U-shaped member having a pair of spaced apart side walls adapted to be slidably mounted over a pair of skis placed bottom to bottom between the foot bindings [58] Fieid 7on8 1 4 58 thereon, and a lockingbar adapted to be operatively l1 mounted between the free ends of the side walls of the U-shaped member after it is mounted around the skis to lock the U-shaped member on the skis. A flexible cable is provided for securing the locking means and [56] g xiz gzi skis to a ski rack or other fixed object. One end of the UN T NTS flexible cable is connected to the free end of one of the 1,337,568 4/]920 Sim 1111011 70/18 side walls of the U-shaped member and the othe end 2,999,378 9/1961 Blair 70/58 f the cable is attached to one end f the locking ban 3,091,011 5/1963 Campbell.... 70/58 X 3,636,739 1/1972 Smedley 70/50 3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures ANTI-THEFT APPARATUS FOR SKIS SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the ski art, andmore particularly to a locking means or anti-theft apparatus for preventing the loss of skis.

The number of thefts of skis has-increasedwith the increase of the popularity of the sport of skiing. I-Iereto-- fore, various ski locking devices have been provided, butthey are expensive, heavy and cumbersome to carry and store. Accordingly, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide a noveland improved antitheft apparatus or locking means for skis whichevercomes the disadvantages of the prior art locking de-- vices.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved locking means for skis which is simple and compact in construction, light'in weight,

' economical to manufacture and efficient in-use.

U-shaped'member after'it is mounted around the skis to lock the U-shaped member on the skis. A flexible cable is provided for securing'the locking means and skis to a ski'rack or other fixed object. One'end of'the flexible cableis connected to the free end of one ofthe side walls of the U-shaped member, and the other end of the cable is attached to one endofthelocking'bar. Other features and advantages of this invention will be apparentv from the following detailed description, appended claims, and the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of afragmentary portion of a ski rack, and showinga conventional pair of skis secured to aski'rack by a locking means made in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the locking.

means illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the locking means illustrated in FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to. FIG. I, the numeral 10 generallydesignates an antitheft apparatus or locking means'for skis made in accordance with the principles of the present invention. The numeral 7 'generally designatesa-pair of conven: tional skis placed bottom to bottom and resting against a conventional ski rack, generally designated by the numeral 11. As shown in FIG. I, the locking means I of the present invention is adapted to be operatively mounted around the pair of skis 7 ina position disposed longitudinally between the toe and heel bindings indicated by the numerals-8 and 9, respectively.

As best seen in FIGS. 2 and3, thelocking means 10 comprises a shackle in the form of aU-shaped member that comprises a pair of spaced apart sidewalls Hand 14 which are joined at one of their ends'by an integral end wall 13. The U-shaped member maybe madefrom any suitable material as, for example, a suitable metal strap material. the locking Asshown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the free end of the side wall 12 is rolled back on itself to form an elongated cylindrical clamp 15 for fixedly securing or clamping one end 16 ofa suitable flexible means, as a metal cable 17. The other end 18 of the cable 17 is also fixedly secured or. clamped in a similar cylindrical end 19 formed on oneen'd of a locking cross bar 20. The locking bar 20 is adapted to have the other end or its free end extended througha slot 21 formed in the sidewall 12 and thenthrough a second slot 22 formed in the side wall 14. The free end of the locking bar 20 is provided with a transverse hole'or bore 23 through which is adapted tobe mounted the shackle of a suitable padlock, generally indicated by the numeral 24 in FIG. 2. It will be understood that the ends of the cable 17 may be secured inthe clamping members 15 and 19 by any suitable means, as by clinching, welding or the like.

In use, the U-shaped member would be mounted around a'pair of skis,as indicated by the numeral 7, when they are disposed in a bottom to bottomposition. The U-shaped clamping or shackle member would be mounted around the-skis between the foot bindings 8 and9 so that the skis cannot be slid from the locking means. The cable 17'is then threaded'around any suitable member to which it is desired to lock the skis 7 as, for example,.a portion of the ski rack of the type indicated bythenumeralll inFIG. l. The locking bar 10 is then passed through the slots 21 and 22 and secured in-place by a suitable padlock 24.

As shown-in FIG. 1, a pair of ski poles may be disposed against one side of the skis 7, between the locking bar 20 and the adjacent side 'of the'skis 7. The ski poles are prevented from being pulledout ofthe locking means because'of the handleson one end thereof and the circular, outward extended baskets on the other'end'thereof. It'willbe seen 'that'the skis 7 cannot be removed'from the locking means because of the ski bindings 8 and 9. If the bindings are ripped from the skis, they still cannot be removed from the locking meansbecause of the outwardly curved front shovel ends'andbecause the width of the ski tails is greater than the distance between the end wall 13 and the locking cross bar 20. It :will be understood that'any suitable flexible means could be used in lieu of the cable 17 as, for example, a suitable chain means; It will also be understood that the present invention provides a novel locking means not only for skis but for ladders and the like. The locking means of the present invention'can be made to any desiredsize.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiment of the invention herein disclosed is well calculated to fulfill the objects above-stated, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification, variation and change.

What isclaimed is:

l; A locking means for skis comprising:

a. a U-shaped member having a pair of spaced apart side walls joined at one of their ends by an integral end wall, and the other of their ends being free;

b. a locking bar releasably positioned to interconnect said side-walls at their free ends, and adapted to be secured in said position by a padlock to secure a pair of skis in said U-shaped member; and,

c. an elongated flexible means having one end thereof fixedly secured to the free end of one of c. said lock bar having one end extended beyond the outer face of one side wall and provided with an opening therethrough for the reception of the shackle of a padlock, and the other end of said bar being extended beyond the outer face of the other side wall and having said other end of said flexible means fixedly secured thereto.

3. A locking means for skis and the like as defined in claim 2, wherein:

a. said flexible means comprises a metal cable. 

1. A locking means for skis comprising: a. a U-shaped member having a pair of spaced apart side walls joined at one of their ends by an integral end wall, and the other of their ends being free; b. a locking bar releasably positioned to interconnect said side walls at their free ends, and adapted to be secured in said position by a padlock to secure a pair of skis in said U-shaped member; and, c. an elongated flexible means having one end thereof fixedly secured to the free end of one of said side walls and the other end thereof fixedly secured to said locking bar.
 2. A locking means for skis as defined in claim 1, wherein: a. the outer ends of each of said U-shaped member side walls are provided with a slot formed therethrough; b. said locking bar is adapted to be passed through said slots in said side walls for releasably positioning said locking bar to interconnect and enclose the open free ends of said side walls; and, c. said lock bar having one end extended beyond the outer face of one side wall and provided with an opening therethrough for the reception of the shackle of a padlock, and the other end of said bar being extended beyond the outer face of the other side wall and having said other end of said flexible means fixedly secured thereto.
 3. A locking means for skis and the like as defined in claim 2, wherein: a. said flexible means comprises a metal cable. 